Chapter 493: Still Unknown

It was dark.

Inside the palace, only the faint candlelight was still flickering.

“what!”

There was a scream and the palace was in chaos. A eunuch quickly walked into the room. The lights were on and Emperor Chen Xu was sitting on the bed with beads of sweat on his forehead.

Queen Liu held his hand and looked at Chen Xu worriedly, not knowing what to do.

“His Majesty?”

Chen Xu gasped for breath and looked at the attendants in front of him. He waved his hand and said, “Everyone, go out. It’s okay!”

The eunuchs looked at each other for a few seconds and then slowly left.

The emperor and the empress were the only ones left in the room.

Queen Liu was worried. In the past few days, the emperor was always troubled by nightmares. It was like this for several days in a row, and he would suddenly wake up with a start.

“Your Majesty, what happened?”

“nothing.”

“Nothing? Your Majesty has been absent-minded these past few days. It’s like this during the day and at night. He either wakes up from a nightmare or remains silent. Is there anything you can’t tell me?”

Chen Xu frowned and remained silent.

Queen Liu’s eyes were filled with sadness, and she couldn’t help sobbing softly, “Your Majesty always told me about anything in the past. Why is this happening now? Did I do something wrong?”

Chen Xu was stunned, then he held the queen’s hand.

“It’s not the Queen’s fault.”

“Whose fault is that?”

Chen Xu was silent for a long time, and suddenly asked: “Does the Queen really think that Huang Fachu is a useful person?”

Queen Liu was shocked. She asked in disbelief: “Your Majesty, why do you say that? Who doesn’t know General Huang’s loyalty? Is there a villain?”

“no!”

Chen Xu gritted his teeth and trembled as he said, “In the whole court, no one has said anything bad about him. There are nursery rhymes everywhere among the people, but no one wants to impeach him. Some even want to sign a joint letter to vouch for him!!”

“Not only them, but you are also persuading me in this way. Could it be that Huang Fachu has won the hearts of the people? My soldiers, ministers, and even the queen are loyal to me?!”

Queen Liu was a very smart woman. She reacted instantly and quickly grabbed the emperor’s hand, “Your Majesty! How is this possible?”

Anger appeared on Queen Liu’s gentle face. “Your Majesty, this must be the scheme of those villains in the country!”

“Oh?”

“The enemy used the strategy of flattery to kill in order to alienate the emperor and his subjects. These people in the country have been targeted by Huang Fachu in every way. How could they possibly say good things about him?”

“How come he has suddenly become so respected and beloved when he was constantly impeached in the past?”

“These villains in the country know that slandering others is useless, so they help the enemy to flatter and kill. They deserve to be killed! “

Chen Xu’s expression was extremely complicated. The Queen’s words could be regarded as a kind of enlightenment, but in the final analysis, they were still an excuse for Huang Fachi! !

As an emperor, especially an emperor in a turbulent era, Chen Xu was sensitive and suspicious. After all, the fate of the previous emperor who was known for his generosity was still fresh in his memory! !
This is no longer an era of gentlemen. When the imperial power has been stripped of its sacred cloak, everyone understands that the emperor is just an ordinary person with the strongest army.

Whoever has troops, prestige, and the ability to command the support of the people can put on this coat.

Chen Xu was really frightened.

The Queen understood Chen Xu’s thoughts to some extent. She could only change her words to appease the Emperor, “Your Majesty, Huang Fachi is too stubborn and doesn’t know how to bow his head.”

“The nobles and families in the country hate him to the core. They are willing to help the enemy to bring him down. Most of the generals around him are the sons of the old generals in the country and are loyal to Your Majesty.”

“Besides, Lianghuai is short of food and fodder, and both need supplies from the capital.”

The Queen took several different approaches to reduce the risk of Huang Fachi in the Emperor’s mind.

Chen Xu sat on the bed in a daze, listening to the queen’s story. The queen said many words one after another.

Chen Xu’s towering shoulders slowly lowered during this process, and when the queen didn’t know what else to say, Chen Xu held her hand tightly.

“you’re right.”

“It’s all just alienation.”

“How could those people in the country change their past ideas so quickly?”

Chen Xu seemed to be speaking to himself. He spoke in a low voice for a long time. Finally, a smile appeared on his face. He kissed his queen on the cheek and said, “Rest.”

The candlelight dimmed a lot and no longer flickered.

On the wall, the distorted black shadow cast by the candlelight was still dancing restlessly.

The next day, the emperor sent envoys to Lianghuai to reward Huang Fachi, once again demonstrating his trust and favor for General Huang.

Qin County.

Knights would gallop through the city from time to time. These knights were ordered to capture spies. It didn’t matter if they couldn’t catch the spies, as long as they were forbidden to let things like nursery rhymes appear in the city again.

Several merchants looked at the knight who was leaving in the distance, and then walked into a restaurant, where the waiter greeted them warmly.

While eating, the leading merchant couldn’t help but say, “It seems that Qin County has also heard the news.”

“what news?”

“His Majesty has sent people to arrest General Huang!”

The conversation between several merchants attracted the attention of the people around them. Some people looked at them, and they immediately shut their mouths, not daring to say more, and just lowered their heads to eat.

At this moment, a man suddenly walked up to them and sat down.

This man has a rough appearance and is strong and powerful.

“What did you say just now? What did you say about General Huang?”

The merchant was terrified. His small eyes were filled with fear. He said nervously, “I am a merchant from the south. I don’t know anything. Please don’t take it.”

“I don’t care where you come from! General Huang has been very kind to me. What did you just say? Who wants to harm General Huang?”

“This, this is just a rumor.”

“When we passed through Jiankang, we heard from people there that children’s songs praising General Huang were being sung everywhere. The emperor was very angry, so he sent people here in the name of reward, saying that he wanted to trick General Huang out alone and capture him before returning to Jiankang.”

The merchant stammered and told some things.

Everyone in the restaurant was shocked.

The sturdy man flew into a rage, “The city is searching for spies everywhere, and I think you are the spy!”

“Come with me!”

The man grabbed the merchant and walked out. The others tried to resist, but they were no match for him. He was tall and strong. Seeing him pulling three people out, the others were very curious and followed him.

When knights galloped past on the road again, the strong man stopped them and threw the merchants out, suspecting that these people were spies.

The knights were naturally very excited as they had been searching for so many days without finding any clues.

The merchants were all frightened and cried. They hurriedly took out their passes. From the instructions along the way, it seemed that they had indeed come from the south and were genuine southerners. They had traveled from a very southern location. It was clear when they had been and where they had been. They did not look like spies from the north at all.

The strong man had no choice but to tell what the merchants had said.

The knights were horrified and immediately left with the merchants.

The sturdy man looked at the people going away blankly, and looked around, “It can’t be true? Why do they look so nervous?”

There were already quite a few people surrounding the strong man at this moment.

These people are also quite worried.

“The court wants to take action against General Huang? Why?”

“How is this possible?”

“We all know General Huang’s kindness, why doesn’t the court know about it? Before General Huang arrived, those people were so rampant that they dared to break into the house and rob and kill people in broad daylight. Why did the court arrest General Huang instead of arresting them?!”

Xu Jingcheng rushed into Huang Fachi’s house with a solemn face.

At this time, Huang Fachi was discussing the ferry issue with several county-level officials.

Huang Fate was a little angry, “I told you a long time ago, don’t think that Jiangbei will definitely fall! With such an idea, how can you govern the place well?”

“Many traitors in the court think that Jiangbei cannot be defended and can only be defended by the river. Some even think that we should give up Jiangbei.” “How absurd!”

“You are officials from all over Jiangbei, and you should not listen to these rumors! You must do your best to govern the situation and not let down your guard. Even if the Han soldiers come to attack us tomorrow, you must do your best to govern the situation today!”

Huang Fachi scolded them, but these people did not dare to complain and nodded their heads in agreement.

At this moment, Xu Jingcheng walked in and, regardless of the other party’s identity, directly asked them to leave for the time being. The officials stood up and walked out, but Xu Jingcheng dismissed his attendants and closed the door.

“General! This is bad!”

Xu Jingcheng took out the document from his arms and said, “Today, the knights caught several merchants who spread rumors. I will go and interrogate them personally.”

Xu Jingcheng placed the content of the interrogation in front of Huang Fachi. Huang Fachi opened the document thoughtfully and read it carefully.

Xu Jingcheng saw that Huang Fachi was not in a hurry at all, and he read the documents repeatedly and nonchalantly. Finally, he couldn’t help but said, “General, please say something!”

“What on earth should we do about this?”

Huang Fate heard this and said, “Those knights have made great contributions and can be rewarded.”

“I’m not asking the knights, I’m asking the court whether they really want it.”

“Oh!”

Huang Fate slammed the document in his hand on the table and looked at Xu Jingcheng angrily. Xu Jingcheng lowered his head and said, “General, I’m just a little worried.”

“no need to worry.”

“This is still the enemy’s strategy to sow discord.”

Huang Fachi raised his head, his eyes full of helplessness. The gap between the north and the south was really getting bigger and bigger, especially in the military. Qi and Zhou were countries that were good at playing spies, and now the two have become one. In terms of spy warfare, Chen and the two in the north are not on the same level at all.

The other side had already institutionalized it, but the State of Chen was still sending soldiers in white clothes to gather information.

The enemy in the city of Chen State can attack at will and spread nursery rhymes at will, so it is impossible to defend against it.

Huang Fachi had a headache.

He was silent for a moment, and then warned: “The enemy tried to sow discord in Jiankang, but failed, and now they want to sow discord between us.”

“Don’t believe what these people say. Interrogate them thoroughly. If they are really spies, see if you can capture them. If they are just hearsay and spreading rumors, then lock them up and deal with them according to the law!”

Xu Jingcheng nodded quickly.

An invisible undercurrent surged in each city. The knights stepped up their vigilance and even interrupted several important roads at one point in an attempt to suppress all kinds of rumors.

However, the results were not very obvious. The rumors were not limited to the people. There were also many rumors in the army that the court wanted to arrest Huang Fachu.

The soldiers were half-believing and half-doubting, and Huang Fachi’s clarifications did not have much effect.

At this time, the imperial envoy arrived at the ferry in Jiangbei by boat.

The imperial court really had no intention of arresting Huang Fachi. If they wanted to arrest him, they would not have sent a scholar with more than a hundred people, as they had done before, when they had sent Zhang Zhaoda with elite armored soldiers.

At the Jiangbei ferry, Xu Jingcheng had already made preparations to welcome the envoy.

Huang Fachi was worried that someone would harm the envoy and then put the blame on himself, so he sent Xu Jingcheng with elite troops to the ferry to meet him, and asked him to escort him all the way and do his best to ensure the envoy’s safety.

When the messenger got off the boat and arrived at the ferry, he was shocked.

When Xu Jingcheng came with a large army, those who knew about it said it was a welcome, while those who didn’t know said it was a demonstration.

Xu Jingcheng explained that things were not peaceful here and there were bandits causing chaos, and he hoped the envoy would not worry too much.

Then he asked the envoy to get on the car, and the army escorted the envoy into the city.

The huge team marched towards the city.

Xu Jingcheng looked around vigilantly to prevent the people from causing chaos.

As the team got closer and closer to the city, more and more people began to appear along the road. However, with soldiers clearing the way, these people could not get close at all.

Just at this moment, there was a commotion in the distance.

Xu Jingcheng hurriedly ordered the troops to form a battle array.

We saw more than a hundred people trying to get closer. The soldiers began to suppress them, but they were not afraid and roared loudly.

“General Huang is a virtuous general!! He cannot be arrested!!”

“Please show mercy, imperial court!”

“The people of Jiangbei have all benefited from General Huang’s kindness!”

The crowd roared, and then more and more people began to gather here. After hearing what these people said, the soldiers who were originally restraining them were a little confused and didn’t know what to do.

More and more people began to gather and speak out for Huang Fachi, asking the court for mercy.

There were even a few old men holding longevity sticks in the distance. They were white-haired and so old that even the soldiers didn’t dare to touch them. These were all prestigious elders in and outside the city, and they also came to plead for Huang Fachi.

The messenger stuck his head out of the carriage, listened to the chaotic noise outside, and looked at Xu Jingcheng who was standing aside in a daze, his teeth almost breaking.

“General Xu, what does this mean?!”

“First they threatened with the army, and then threatened the people?”

“Your Majesty trusts General Huang so much, why does General Huang do this?!”

For a moment, Xu Jingcheng’s scalp went numb. “No! No! These people…”

He quickly looked at the officers on his left and right, “Drive the crowd away! Put the road under martial law. No one is allowed to approach, no matter who it is! No one is allowed to approach!”

The officers issued orders everywhere. Although the soldiers agreed with the people’s ideas in their hearts, they had to obey military orders, so they had to start driving away those who were crying out for justice for Huang Fachi. However, they did not use any harsh measures.

Xu Jingcheng gave a forceful order to clear the roads and sent people to clear all the way into the city.

But his behavior only made the rumors more credible.

They came to protest their injustice, but the soldiers just started to drive them away and put the whole city under martial law. They wanted to arrest General Huang! !
Some people began to target the generals who came to welcome the emperor, believing that these people were trying to help the court capture Huang Fachi.

In other words, Xu Jingcheng was usually quite strict in disciplining the army and had great prestige in the army, so he was able to bite the bullet and forcibly suppress these soldiers and prevent them from causing chaos.

Even so, the faces of the envoy and his entourage looked very bad.

When they arrived outside the city, Huang Fachi came out personally and finally calmed the soldiers down.

Xu Jingcheng looked aggrieved, looking at Huang Fachi, seeming to want to say something but stopping himself.

“No problem.”

Huang Fate said something to him and then went to meet the envoy.

The envoy forced a smile in front of Huang Fachuo and announced the reward for Huang Fachuo in public. However, after reading out the reward, the envoy was eager to go back. Huang Fachuo tried to persuade him to stay, but the envoy just declined politely.

The messenger told Huang Fachi with a smile on his face that he had wasted time on his way here and could not stay any longer. Now that the order had been read out, he should go back early.

Huang Fachi could not forcibly detain the envoy, so this time he sent the envoy back personally.

Huang Fate just stood at the dock, watching the messenger’s ship gradually disappear in the distance.

The generals all breathed a sigh of relief and smiles appeared on their faces.

It turns out that they really want to reward me, not punish me. This is great.

However, Huang Fachi, who had his back to them, had a look of deep despair on his face.

He vaguely realized that the relationship between the emperor and his subjects, which had finally been eased, might be in big trouble.

But he had no way to remedy or alleviate this problem.

There was nothing he could do.

Xu Jingcheng walked to Huang Fachi’s side again. He was no longer as careless as before. As one of the escorts, he also knew the seriousness of the problem.

“General, I have some friends in Jiankang. Ask them to help tell us about the situation here. There are too many spies who are instigating the people.”

“No need.”

“The more people plead for mercy, the more serious the situation is.”

“Then what do we do?”

“I do not know.”

(End of this chapter)